The indents in the drawer.
The drawer in room 105 of Blue Creek Apartments.
- This article is a guide for a Silent Hill 2 puzzle.
The Coin Puzzle is a puzzle in Silent Hill 2 in room 105 of the Blue Creek Apartments.
Prior to the puzzle, James Sunderland discovers room 209 has a note taped on its door.
"Dear Tim,
I have to run an errand so
I'm going out.
I left the house key with Uncle
David. (You know where he lives,
don't you? The key is in the room
near the first floor staircase.)
I'll be back as soon as I can, so
please watch the place while I'm
gone."
James enters David's room, 105, and find indents in the nearby drawer, the perfect size for three coins the player picked up earlier.
Intro[]
If the player examines each coin, they'll notice that each has a picture on them:
- Old Man - Picture of an old man; hence the name
- Snake - Picture of a snake; hence the name
- Prisoner - Picture of a lady prisoner; hence the name
Using these, and finding which is which in the riddle, the puzzle can easily be solved.
Solution[]
Easy[]
"To the right is the lady.
To the left is the old one.
In the center crawls the other.
Now just two spaces remain,
But fear not for now,
The puzzle is done.
The puzzle is done."
 Old Man |
 Snake |
 Prisoner |
|---|
- "To the right is the lady" is the Prisoner in the slot at the right end.
- "To the left is the old one" is the Old Man in the left end slot.
- "In the center crawls the other" would be the Snake.
Normal[]
"Three bright coins in five holes be
At one end sits
the Seducer of she
The wind from behind
the woman doth play
The Formless One,
Null, lies furthest from they
The Old One beside
the Serpent sits not.
'Tis to the Prisoner's left
that he doth rot"
Old Man |
Prisoner |
Snake |
|---|
- "Three bright coins in five holes be" just means three coins fit into the five slots.
- "At one end sits the seducer of she" is saying the seducer sits at an end. The seducer, in this case, would be the Snake, seducing Eve to eat the apple (Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden).
- "The wind from behind the woman doth play" describes that there is an empty space behind the Prisoner. The Prisoner is facing to the left, so the empty space is to the right.
- "The formless one, null, lies furthest from they" is saying there's an empty slot at one of the ends.
- "The old one beside the serpent sits not, 'tis to the Prisoner's left that he doth rot" describes that the Old Man does not sit beside the Snake, and that he is to the left of the Prisoner.
Hard[]
"First lies the seat of
He who is Peerless
Silent and empty,
heartless and fearless
Beside him sits one who knows
The place of the servant is
next to the throne
Dozens of feet,
yet not a single toe
The One that is Hidden
beside him doth go
Seducer of dreams,
creature of Hades
Lying further from
Man and closer to Lady
Man and Woman seeing all
Heedless to the Raven's call
Silent and Hidden the two may be
They be not there for you to see
Return them to whence
they would be
And blessing shall
descend on thee
I speak thus with
the North Star behind me
The birth of the sun is
the start of the story"
Old Man |
Snake |
Prisoner |
|---|
- "First lies the seat of He who is Peerless; Silent and empty, heartless and fearless" describes the first slot has someone "Silent" in it.
- "Beside him sits one who knows" determines someone is in the second slot beside the "Silent" one. "One who knows" implies the Old Man, who is wise.
- "Dozens of feet, yet not a single toe. The One that is Hidden beside him doth go" means that the third slot has someone "Hidden" in it.
- "Seducer of dreams, creature of Hades. Lying further from Man and closer to Lady" means the Snake is closer to the Prisoner than to the Old Man.
- "Silent and Hidden the two may be, They be not there for you to see" determines that the first slot, which is "silent", and the third slot, which is "hidden", are empty.
- "I speak thus with the North Star behind me," meaning the speaker is facing south. "The birth of the sun is the start of the story." In other words, the sun will rise in the east, which is to the speaker's left, meaning the coins must be inserted left to right.
Extra[]
"Like coins in the hazy
aether tossed
Our souls must by
their sinful weight
Descend to earth
with lightness lost
To "right" the sins
that they hath laid
When thrice in falling they intone
The Happiness shall be thy own
The first note be not by
the Horned One rung
Though it be there that
all sins be sprung
The Bringer of Life and
the Bringer of Shame
The sins of the latter be
even more tame
Though coming
in the Aged One's wake
The Formless One's soul
in fear doth quake
The Needless One, silent,
with hungers all sated
Is least then in sin
with his lusts all abated
For the gravest of sinners
His place be appointed
And if he be lucky
May his soul be anointed"
Old Man |
Snake |
Prisoner |
|---|
- Examining the coins in Extra Riddle mode will reveal a reverse side to each of them: for the Snake, a crescent moon; for the Prisoner, a nest with five eggs; and for the Old Man, a gravestone.
- "To "right" the sins that they hath laid" is a wordplay, where "right" is used as a verb meaning "to correct", and also suggests the order of the coins. Since relevant symbols can be found on the reverse side of the coins, the order they are placed must also be reversed, right to left, rather than left to right as used in the other difficulties.
- "The first note be not by the Horned One rung; though it be there that all sins be sprung" refers to the first slot, in this case on the far right. It makes no reference to any of the coins, and uses the word "sprung" suggesting a hole, as in "sprung a leak." Therefore this slot is empty.
- "The Bringer of Life and the Bringer of Shame; the sins of the latter be even more tame" refers to the Prisoner, who is the bringer of life (suggested by the egg on her coin) and shame (reference to the Garden of Eden). Therefore the second slot is hers.
- "Though coming in the Aged One's wake; the Formless One's soul in fear doth quake" mentions that the Snake is afraid of the Old Man, thus they cannot be together. This means the Snake must be placed beside the Prisoner, leaving a gap between him and the Old Man.
- "The Needless One, silent, with hungers all sated; Is least then in sin with his lusts all abated" refers to the final slot, on the far left. This slot belongs to the Old Man, who in death (as represented by the gravestone on his coin) has put an end to his cravings for power, life, etc.